Don Vito Corleone (Character) Don Vito Corleone (Character) from The Godfather (1972) The content of this page was created by users. It has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. There may be more photos available for this character. To select more photos to be displayed in this character's gallery, click the Edit Photos link. Overview Biography In the first film, Don Vito Corleone was portrayed by Marlon Brando... See more » Alternate Names: Godfather / The Godfather / Vito Corleone / Young Vito Corleone Filmography ... aka "Mario Puzo's The Godfather: A Novel for Television" - USA (complete title) ... aka "The Godfather 1902-1959: The Complete Epic" - USA (video title) ... aka "The Godfather Novella" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "The Godfather Saga" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" - USA (complete title) ... aka "SNL" - USA (informal title) ...

aka "SNL 25" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "Saturday Night" - USA (first season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live '80" - USA (sixth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 15" - USA (fifteenth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 20" - USA (twentieth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 25" - USA (twentyfifth season title) Vito Corleone | The Godfather Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia ―Vito Corleone [src] Vito was born on December 7th 1891 , in the small Sicilian village of Corleone to Antonio Andolini . In 1901 , his father, Antonio was murdered by a Sicilian Mafia boss named Don Ciccio because he refused to pay tribute to him. His older brother, Paolo , swore revenge, but was himself murdered soon after; Paolo's murder was timed with the ultimate insult: during the funeral procession for his father. Eventually, Don Ciccio's henchmen came to the residence of the Andolinis to take Vito away and have him killed as well.

Desperate, Signora Andolini took her son to see the Mafia chieftain herself. When she went to see Don Ciccio, she begged for forgiveness, but Don Ciccio refused, reasoning that the younger boy Vito would also seek revenge as an adult. Upon Don Ciccio's refusal, Signora Andolini put a knife to his throat, allowing her son to escape at the expense of her own life. Later that night, he was smuggled away, fleeing Sicily to seek refuge in America on a cargo ship full of immigrants. Unable to speak English, he was renamed on Ellis Island as Vito Corleone when the immigration clerks saw the tag pinned to his clothes labelled "Vito Andolini from Corleone". Coming to America "Do me this favor. I won't forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor..." ―Vito Corleone [src] Young Vito at Ellis Island in 1901. Vito was later adopted by the Abbandando family in New York , and he befriended Genco Abbandando , who became like a brother to him.

When he was eighteen, Vito married and started a family. Vito began making an honest living at Abbandando's grocery store on Ninth Avenue, but lost the job, as an intimidated Abbandando was forced to employ the nephew of Don Fanucci , a blackhander and the local neighborhood padrone. Vito was forced to take up an unstable job doing back-breaking labor for the railroads, which he also lost during a mass-layoff. Vito's money troubles were soon solved when one night, a neighbor of Vito's, Peter Clemenza , asks him to hide a stash of guns for him, and later, to repay the favor, takes him to a fancy apartment where they commit their first crime together, stealing an expensive rug. They soon became friends and, joined by a friend of Peter's named Salvatore Tessio , the three soon learned to survive and prosper through petty crime and performing favors in return for loyalty. The three made good money by hijacking garment trucks, Vito being vital to these hijackings since he was one of the few people in Manhattan 's Little Italy at the time that knew how to drive a truck. Don Fanucci Vito Corleone assassinates Fanucci.

Young Vito, Tessio and Clemenza. New York, in 1917 , 'Don' Fanucci became aware of the partnership between Vito, Clemenza and Sal Tessio, and demanded that they "wet his beak", IE, pay tribute to him. Fanucci had threatened to inform the police if the trio didn't pay a substantial portion of their ill-gotten gains. Clemenza and Tessio were alarmed and had wanted immediately to pay Fanucci, quite certain that he was connected to the Mafia. While his friends were busy panicking, Vito calmly recalled everything he knew about Fanucci and the Mafia (the "Black Hand" as referred to in this part of the story). He remembered that the padrone walked the streets with no obvious protection, which had led to an incident where Fanucci was knifed by several neighborhood boys whose families he had tried to extort. He later murdered one of the boys, but had called off the vendetta after the families of the remaining two paid him an indemnity to foreswear his vengeance.

Vito guessed that Fanucci actually allowed himself to be bought off because he had gotten lucky and would be unable to kill the remaining two boys now that their guard was up, suggesting Fanucci worked alone. Vito came to the realization that Fanucci only acted like he was a mob boss in front of easy-to-trick immigrants, as no mafioso would allow an assassin to live, even if paid enormous sums of money, and no member of any mafia would ever need or resort to informing the police as a threat. Thinking further, he decided that Fanucci's life was not worth $700. Vito asked his friends to leave everything in his hands to convince Fanucci to accept less money, telling his friends "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse". When Vito later met with Fanucci, he offered only a fraction of the amount demanded — $100 of the $600 Fanucci expected. Fanucci is impressed with Vito's courage, and offered him work. Vito interpreted his ability to low-ball Fanucci as a sign of the latter's weakness, thus confirming his suspicion of Fanucci's vulnerability.

Vito then allowed Fanucci to leave the building, so witnesses could confirm that he left alive. Vito had chosen the day of a major festival to spy on and follow Fanucci from the rooftops as Fanucci went home, and surprised him at the door to his apartment. He shot Fanucci three times with a muffled pistol, as the din from the festival and the towel Vito had wrapped the muzzle of his pistol in drowned out the noise from the gunshots. After the hit, Vito retrieved the money Fanucci had taken earlier in the day and then destroyed the gun, dismantling it and dropping it down vent pipes of the apartment building. Despite all the precautions he had taken to insure that he wouldn't be suspected, it turned out that the police thought Fanucci was scum and were in no hurry to find his killer, believing it was a routine gangster execution. With Fanucci dead, Vito earned the respect of the neighborhood, becoming known as a "Man of Respect" on the streets, and was soon asked to intercede in local disputes, gaining a reputation for never turning down someone who came to him for help and for being able to "reason" with "unreasonable" people.

Although he had declined to do so at first out of modesty, Vito eventually started accepting "gifts" from local businesses and racket bosses in return for "ensuring that our patrons know that they are safe", and Vito was soon making a wage of $100 a week (in the 1900s this was an enormous amount of money). Vito, Clemenza and Tessio eventually took over the neighborhood, treating it with a great deal more respect than Fanucci did. Genco Pura Don Vito Corleone in the early 1920s. With the profits he was gaining, Vito started an olive oil importation business, Genco Pura , with his friend Genco Abbandando. The company eventually becomes the biggest olive oil importer in the nation, thanks to Vito's subtle "reasoning" with store owners. While a excellent moneymaker in it's own right, in the later years he used it as a legal front for his growing organized crime syndicate, while amassing a fortune with its illegal operations, which started during Prohibition , when he used his olive oil trucks to smuggle alcohol in from Canada.

Vito soon started to protect small neighborhood speakeasies, learning early the value of political protection. In 1922 , he returned to Sicily for the first time since leaving 21 years earlier. Vito quietly located and killed the thugs who Don Ciccio had sent to kill him as a child during his exodus from Sicily. He and his partner, Tommasino then set up a meeting with the aging Don Ciccio under the pretense of gaining his blessing for the olive oil business, where he kills him by carving his stomach open—thus avenging his murdered father, mother and brother. The 1930s Don Vito dances with his daughter one last time. By the early 1930s , Vito Corleone had established the Corleone family along with old friends Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio , who would become his caporegimes . Genco Abbandando would become the first consigliere of the family. By this time, everyone, even his closest friends, were referring to him respectfully as "Don Corleone" or "The Godfather".

He soon intervened in a problem involving a dangerous thug named Luca Brasi , making the man his personal enforcer. During the Depression, when most people demeaned themselves to make mere pennies a day, Don Corleone offered good-paying, secure jobs to anyone willing to work for him. Anyone who came to him for help, Don Corleone helped with goodwill and encouraging words. He planned for the future by financing the education and careers of bright young neighborhood boys who would soon become lawyers, assistant DA's, even judges. Large numbers of grateful Italians asked his advice on who to vote for in office elections, giving him a great deal of political power. He even hired a lawyer to organize a system of police payoffs, and insisted on paying as many officers as possible, whether they were needed at the moment or not. When Prohibition ended, Don Corleone decided to offer a partnership with Salvatore Maranzano , the big shot gangleader who controlled all the gambling in Manhattan. Vito offered a political umbrella which would help Maranzano expand his rackets into new areas, and Vito would get a share of the profits.

However, the short-sighted and short-tempered Maranzano, thinking that Vito was trying to forcibly buy him out, declared war on the "upstart" Corleone, touching off the Olive Oil War . When the war started, it seemed that Maranzano had the upper hand, with business contacts, and alliances with the Tattaglia family and Al Capone in Chicago . However, the Corleones were far better organized, had far greater intelligence contacts, had greater political power and police protection, and had deceived Maranzano into believing that Tessio's operation in Brooklyn was a separate gang. The War turned into a stalemate until Maranzano called on Al Capone to send his two best gunmen after Vito. Thanks to their contacts in the telegraph business the Corleones learned of this early on, and Don Corleone sent his enforcer Luca Brasi to intercept and eliminate the hitmen in a most horrifying fashion. Brasi and several men abducted the two hitmen, drove to a warehouse, tied them up, and Luca personally hacked one of the men to pieces with an axe, while the other swallowed his gag in terror and suffocated.

Vito sent a letter to Capone a few days later, the message being clear: you can either join me, or else stay out of my way. Not wanting to lose any more valuable men, Capone decided to remain neutral. The incident was a turning point in the War; Maranzano had severely underestimated just how powerful and crafty the Corleone family really was, and was soon losing soldiers who had lost faith in his ability to win. While Clemenza's regime hacked away at Maranzano's power structure (and in the process gaining loyalty of the unions who had been oppressed by Marazano's thugs), Vito then sent in the held-back Tessio regime for the deathblow. By New Year's Eve 1933 , the Corleones eliminated Maranzano and his empire, and established themselves as the most powerful of the families in New York. While he oversaw a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, and murder, he was known as a kind, generous man who lived by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family.

He tried to spread these values throughout the New York crime world; he disagreed with many of the vicious crimes carried out by gangs and so sought to control crime in New York by either consuming or eliminating rival gangs. Known as the Pacification of New York , the area of the city was left under the control of Five Families . He also started the Commission , in an effort to pacify America's underworld in preparation for WWII. He also disapproved of hard drugs, such as those peddled by his fellow Don, Philip Tattaglia , which led to a deep resentment between the two that would continue for years. A straitlaced man concerning sexual matters, he also held himself above prostitution, another reason for his intense dislike of Tattaglia, whose primary business was prostitution. Don Corleone was also said to be able to find multiple profits and opportunities in everything. An example of this occurred when his daughter Connie became engaged to a friend of her brother's, a hoodlum from Nevada named Carlo Rizzi . The Don sent several men on his payroll to Nevada to learn about Rizzi, and came back with information regarding legalized gambling there, which the Corleone family capitalized on in the years to come.

By this time, he was married with four children, and had several godchildren as well, including big-time singer and actor Johnny Fontane . While he loved all of them, he was most proud of Michael , an intelligent college graduate who's future the Don had "special plans" for. Unfortunately Michael (and everyone else) assumed these "plans" as involving the "family business", and often defied his father, enlisting in the Marine corps against his father's wishes and becoming a decorated World War II veteran. In actuality, Don Corleone had wished for a life away from the "family business" for his son, for him to gain power publicly and legitimately, like a governor or senator. It wasn't until after Michael had voluntarily took over as Don that his father explained this to him, exposing the grand irony: both had tried to keep him out of the Mafia, yet he still wound up following in his father's footsteps. The fall and rise of the family The Don is shot. In December 1945 , Vito was nearly killed in an assassination attempt after he refused the request of Virgil Sollozzo to invest in a heroin operation and use his political contacts for the operation's protection.

The deal would also involve an alliance between the Corleone & Tattaglia families that Vito would rather have avoided. Prior to the assassination attempt, Vito Corleone left his office in the Genco Pura Olive Oil warehouse. He was supposed to be driven back to his Long Beach home by his regime man Paulie Gatto along with his son Fredo . When the Don found that Paulie was not there, Fredo let him know that Paulie had bunked his duty of that day due to a cold. The Don was ambushed and shot down by two hitmen as he purchased oranges from a stall. Fredo fumbled with his gun, and fails to defeat the hitmen, falling to the sidewalk and sobbing as his father lies in a pool of blood, unconscious. The assassination attempt is simultaneous to other multi-directional attacks on the family: Vito's most trusted and feared enforcer Luca Brasi was sent to infiltrate the Tattaglia family several weeks earlier, but was taken by surprise and murdered in a nightclub by Tattaglia's son Bruno , Tattaglia associate Sollozzo and an unnamed hitman.

Following the assassination, Tom Hagen was kidnapped and told to reason with Santino , who was now the acting head of the family. Sollozzo was unaware that Vito had survived and was furious when he discovered this fact. There was a second attempt on his life at the hospital , which was foiled by Michael, who had his father taken to another ward and scared off Sollozzo and his assassins with the help of Enzo Aguello , which was avenged (against Vito's wishes) by the murder of Bruno Tattaglia. Michael had to flee to Sicily after assassinating Sollozzo and his bodyguard Captain McCluskey (something which greatly disappointed the Don), and Sonny waged a destructive and costly war on the other families, nearly wiping out the Tattaglias, but without Don Vito's skills, he could not manage a complete victory, and he was eventually assassinated on the Jones Beach Causeway . Peaceful Death "I knew that Santino was going to have to go through all this. And Fredo - well... Fredo was well... But I never... I never wanted this for you. I work my whole life, I don't apologize, to take care of my family.

And I refused - to be a fool - dancing on the string, held by all those bigshots. I don't apologize, that's my life ,but I thought that when it was your time that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone. Governor - Corleone, or something..." ―Vito Corleone to Michael Corleone [src] Vito, counseling Michael. Vito was summoned back into active service and he surprised the other families when he immediately sued for peace and promised, he would not seek vengeance on the condition that his son Michael be allowed to return home alive and unharmed. He then became semi-retired, acting as a consigliere of sorts to his son Michael. They both plan the destruction of Barzini and his allies, which would be carried out once Vito would die realizing, that Barzini would move against the family after his death with the purpose of conquering it. The two of them surmised that someone in the family would betray Michael in this event by setting up a meeting with Don Emilio Barzini , Vito's main rival and the mastermind behind the Sollozzo scheme.

In 1955 , he died of a heart attack, while playing with his grandson, Anthony in his garden. His funeral was attended by members of the Families from across the country, as well as floods of well-wishers. Before he died he transferred nearly all of his political contacts to his son, which would prove to be crucial in the revenge scheme, Michael orchestrated to wipe out Barzini later. Family ―Vito to Michael Corleone [src] In The Godfather: The Game , Vito first appears receiving Johnny Trapani 's payments from Peter Clemenza on Mott Street. Not long after, Johnny is ambushed in an alleyway by Emilio Barzini . His son Aldo wanders up to the scene, but Vito shields him from the body, promising him that when the time is right, he will take his revenge. Nine years later, at the marriage of his daughter Connie , Vito sends Luca Brasi to rescue Aldo after his mother Serafina expresses worry about him, due to his running with a gang . Soon after Luca's death, Vito is shot by Virgil Sollozzo 's hitmen and is taken to the hospital by Fredo and Aldo.

After recovering, Aldo preforms a couple of favors for him. He is present during Aldo's initiation ceremony to become a Made Man . Welcome to the Family "There is nothing more important to a man than his Family... these men too, these men of honour, they are also my Family. La Famiglia Corleone. I now invite you to be reborn as one of us. You are now one of our qualified men. Gli unomini qualificat. Please, introduce yourself to your brothers." ―Vito Corleone to Aldo Trapani [src] Once he recovers from his wounds, Vito has Aldo inducted into the family as a soldato as well as asking him to perform several favors such as breaking up a strike at the Verona Warehouse . Vito is last seen after the meeting of the Dons following Sonny's death, where he encourages Michael to make Aldo his new caporegime . Personality and traits Vito was known to be very loyal to his friends and allies, but would turn on them if betrayed. He was also a very loving and caring father and husband to his family.

Vito was very grief-stricken after Sonny died, knowing that either his civilian son Michael would take the reins, or, as he saw it, his weak son Fredo. Vito was very handy with a gun, and knew how to disperse with one. He was very smart and logical as a mafioso, always knowing when to take a deal or not, and how to go about doing so. Vito had the foresight of a master chess player, able to predict the ramifications and possible opportunities from seemingly random events years in advance and was known to use reason to solve problems and only use violence as the last possible resort. He was also shown as a great advisor to Michael after he took over. Behind the scenes Vito Corleone is believed to be a composite of Frank Costello , Joe Profaci , Carlo Gambino and Joseph Bonanno . [4] [5] [6] Marlon Brando used audio tapes from the Kefauver hearings to listen to Frank Costello's voice as inspiration to build his portrayal of the character. [7] Costello also had vast political connections and was against the narcotics trade.

Joe Profaci was a leading importer of olive oil in the United States and was dubbed "The Olive Oil King". Joe Bonanno was born in a small town in Sicily and went to the United States following the death of his father. He also wanted his son to succeed him as boss of one of the Five Families. Carlo Gambino became the de facto boss of bosses in the 1960s and was known for being low-key and soft spoken. The assassination attempt on Vito Corleone is inspired by the murder of Frank Scalice , who was shot to death while buying fruit at a vegetable market. [4] [8] Vito Corleone is portrayed by Marlon Brando as an older man, Oreste Baldini as a nine year old and by Robert De Niro when he was in his twenties and thirties. Premiere Magazine listed Vito Corleone as the greatest movie character in history. [9] He was also selected as the 10th greatest movie character by Empire Magazine. [10] In The Godfather: The Game, he was voiced by Doug Abrahams , using Brando's likeness.

In the novel Vito flees to America when he is twelve years old, while in The Godfather Part II he flees to America at age nine. In The Godfather , Vito's tombstone lists his birthday as April 29, 1887. In The Godfather Part II this is changed to December 7, 1891. Vito Corleone has been regarded by many critics and fans alike as one of the top most iconic characters in movie history, in the gangster/crime genre. Mixed with Marlon Brando's superb portrayal (which won him an Academy Award) alongside Vito's cunning personality has made him one of the greatest mafia characters in movie history. He was listed no. 10 in the top 100 greatest characters list by empireonline . Gallery Who Played it Best: Don Vito Corleone - Film Film Comparisons Who Played it Best: Don Vito Corleone We take a look at the portrayals of Mario Puzo’s Don Vito Corleone – who played him best? Marlon Brando or Robert de Niro? Read on to find out!

By Nicola Hall | Roobla Opinionator | Mon 23 Jul, 2012 @ 08:31 GMT 1 Don Vito Corleone The Godfather himself, the man who started it all. Vito Corleone was a character created by Mario Puzo and became one of the greatest movie characters of all time thanks to Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation in 1972. As the Head of the the Corleone mafia family in New York, we’re presented here with Corleone as an old man and a young boy by two very different actors. Marlon Brando in The Godfather Our first taste of Don Corleone was in the initial Godfather movie which won Brando the coveted Best Actor Oscar – an award which he famously turned down. The puffed out cheeks, that ‘voice’ and the loyal ‘man of reason’ with a sinister agenda bubbling just below the surface, Brando’s portrayal as the Mob leader was one of Brando’s best, if not THE best, performance of his career. Brando’s Corleone was an old and world weary strategist with a great love for his family and over-tired yet ruthless involvement in organised crime.

Robert De Niro The Godfather, Part Two: Another Oscar win for Robert De Niro as the young Vito Corleone in the 1974 sequel which – due to the Don’s death eating an orange at the end of the movie – results in some incredible flashbacks of his early life in Sicily and his arrival in America. De Niro’s Corleone is a strong but silent type; fleeing as a young man from Sicily and his life as Vito Andolini following the murder of his father, mother and brother by mafioso boss Don Ciccio. We then see Vito’s transformation from a struggling immigrant living poorly with his wife and young son to a corrupt businessman and cold-blooded killer. Dark stuff. The Verdict: It’s an extremely close call but Brando’s Don Corleone wins hands down whilst the third Vito-less instalment sleeps with the fishes. Read our review of The Godfather (novel) here! The Godfather Characters | GradeSaver Buy Study Guide Don Corleone Don Vito Corelone, "The Godfather" is one of the most iconic film characters of all time, played by Marlon Brando.

He is an Italian immigrant of Sicilian origin who has built an organized crime empire in New York. In his autobiography, Marlon Brando described Don Corleone as "a gentle man, unlike Al Capone, who beat up people with baseball bats... I saw him as a man of substance, tradition, dignity, refinement, a man of unerring instinct who just happened to live in a violent world and who had to protect himself and his family in this environment" (Jones 139). Don Corleone has three sons - Santino "Sonny", Fredo, and Michael, one daughter, Connie, and an adopted son, Tom Hagen. He loves all of his children and includes Sonny, Fredo, and Tom in the family business. He once had hopes that Michael would go into politics or another "legitimate" avenue of power, but after Don Corleone is shot, Michael quickly steps up to protect his father. After Sonny is murdered, Don Corleone, recognizing his skill, puts Michael in power. During the twilight of his life, Don Corleone relaxes and enjoys being a grandfather as well as a consigliere to Michael.

Michael Corleone Don Vito Corleone's youngest son, played by Al Pacino in his star-making role. He went to Dartmouth College but dropped out to join the Marine Corps in World War II. After the war ends, Michael comes back to New York but makes it clear that he does not want to join his family's business. However, when Michael's father is attacked and nearly killed by a rival gangster, Michael steps up and volunteers to kill his father's attackers in order to keep the old man safe. After carrying out the murders, Michael hides out in Sicily and marries a young woman named Apollonia. Then, he receives news that his older brother, Sonny has been murdered and soon thereafter, Apollonia is killed in a car bomb meant for her husband. Back in New York, Michael becomes the head of the Corleone family and marries Kay Adams, his college sweetheart and has a son, Anthony. He proves himself to be much more ruthless and power-hungry than his father. Tom Hagen Don Corleone's adopted son and the family's even-keeled consigliere, played by Robert Duvall.

Hagen is of German-Irish descent, which Sonny and Michael often use as a way to discredit him as a "wartime consigliere". Hagen is loyal through and through, and is often a voice of reason between Sonny's wild temper and Michael's cold-blooded ruthlessness. He is married to Theresa (who is Italian) and has two sons, Frank and Andrew. Sonny Corleone Santino "Sonny" Corleone is one of Don Corleone's sons, played by James Caan. Sonny is known for his explosive temper and is not as bright as Michael or Tom Hagen. He has been part of the Family Business his whole life and steps in as Don after Don Vito is shot. Sonny is married to Sandra, with whom he has 4 children. He frequently cheats on her, notably with Lucy Mancini, one of his sister's bridesmaids. However, Sonny also has a softer side - he is extremely protective of his family, especially his younger siblings - nearly killing Carlo for beating Connie and protecting Michael after he kills Sollozzo and McCluskey. Carlo eventually betrays his violent brother-in-law, leading to Sonny's death.

Kay Adams Michael's girlfriend and eventual wife, played by Diane Keaton. She is from New England and symbolizes Michael's desire to live a life separate from his family business. After Michael commits a double murder and flees to Sicily, Kay tries desperately to get in touch with him, to no avail. A few years later, Michael returns to the USA and tracks Kay down. He reveals that he now works for his father (something he promised he would never do) and proposes marriage. She accepts and they eventually have two children - Anthony and Mary. However, Kay becomes increasingly disillusioned by Michael's work (which he cannot share with her) and his ascension to Don of the Corleone Family. Fredo Don and Carmela Corleone's second son, played by John Cazale. He is the least intelligent and weakest of the Corleone brothers and rarely gets to participate in his family business at a high level. After Sonny's death, Michael sends Fredo to Las Vegas to look after the family's gambling interests, where Fredo develops a womanizing problem. Johnny Fontane A famous singer, film star, and godson of Don Corleone, played by Al Martino.

His character may or may not be inspired by Frank Sinatra. Don Corleone helps Johnny with his career, first getting him out of an oppressive contract with a band manager and later, forcing producer Jack Woltz to give him a role in a major war film (in the film's famous "horse head" scene). Amerigo Bonasera An Italian undertaker who comes to Don Corleone during Connie and Carlo's wedding to request retaliation against some men who roughed up his daughter. Corleone agrees to carry out the task in exchange for Bonasera's loyalty. Later, the Don collects on his favor by asking Bonasera to prepare Sonny's body for his funeral. Jack Woltz Jack Woltz is the head of Woltz Studios in Los Angeles, played by John Marley. He is producing a new war film that Johnny Fontane, Don Corleone's godson, desperately wants to star in. However, Woltz is furious at Fontane for seducing away one of the young starlets Woltz had marked as his own and will not consider him for the role. Therefore, Tom Hagen is forced to go to Hollywood and make Woltz an offer he cannot refuse.

Virgil Sollozzo A top narcotics man who is running a heroin business out of Italy, played by Al Lettieri. Sollozzo is new to the New York scene and is backed by the Tattaglia family, but comes to Don Corleone to request protection and cash in exchange for a percentage of his business. Corleone politely turns Sollozzo down, leading to a series of retaliations. First, Sollozzo arranges to have Don Corleone gunned down, but his further attempts to murder the Don are thwarted by Michael. Michael Corleone murders Sollozzo at a restaurant, along with Sollozzo's crooked cop ally, McCluskey. Paulie Gatto Don Corleone's bodyguard and driver played by John Martino. Paulie keeps calling out sick and is absent the day Don Corleone is gunned down. Clemenza and Rocco Lampone murder Paulie because Sonny thinks he snitched while he was apparently ill. Luca Brasi The Corelone family's loyal, awkward 'muscle', played by Lenny Montana. He is killed by Virgil Sollozzo when he tries to go undercover to obtain information about him.

Clemenza Don Corleone's longtime caporegime, played by Richard S. Castellano. He lives in a modest home on Staten Island with his wife. He is a good cook and has a gregarious personality, but is also a loyal and ruthless killer when he has to be. During the film, Clemenza is responsible for the deaths of Paulie Gatto and Carlo Rizzi. Tessio Another one of Don Corleone longtime caporegimes, played by Abe Vigoda. Michael discovers that Tessio has betrayed him to Barzini and has him executed. Before he is taken away, Tessio makes sure that Michael knows that his betrayal was only business - a reaction to Michael scaling back operations in New York increasing the Corleone family's presence in Las Vegas. Connie Corleone Don Corleone's youngest child, played by Talia Shire (Francis Ford Coppola's sister). She marries Carlo Rizzi, a friend of Sonny's, at the beginning of the film. Carlo regularly abuses and cheats on Connie, but they eventually have two sons, Victor and Michael Francis.

Upon discovering that Carlo betrayed the Corleone family to Barzini, leading to Sonny's murder, Michael orders Carlo's execution. This causes a major rift in his relationship with Connie and with his own wife, Kay. Carlo Rizzi Connie's philandering, abusive husband, played by Gianni Russo. Don Corleone does not trust Carlo to be part of the family business. Sonny later nearly kills Carlo for beating Connie. Despite his violent nature, Michael relies on Carlo to help navigate the Corleone family's business in Las Vegas, since Carlo is from Nevada himself. However, when Michael discovers that Carlo conspired with Barzini to arrange Sonny's death, he has his brother-in-law killed. Nazorine The Sicilian baker, played by Vito Scotti, who makes the lavish cake for Connie's wedding and asks for Don Corleone's help in getting Enzo, his prospective son-in-law, a visa to stay in America. Apollonia The young Italian girl that Michael falls in love with while he is hiding out in Sicily, played by Simonetta Stefanelli. Michael marries her and only a year later, witnesses her accidental death due to a car bomb that was intended for him.

Mama Carmela Corleone is the matriarch of the Corleone family, played by Morgana King. She is Don Corleone's wife; mother to Michael, Fredo, Connie, Sonny, and adoptive mother to Tom Hagen. Fabrizio One of Michael's bodyguards while he is hiding out in Sicily, played by Angelo Infanti. Fabrizio betrays Michael, leading to the death of Apollonia. Calo SparkNotes: The Godfather Trilogy: Character List The Godfather Trilogy Vito Corleone - Played by Marlon Brando (1) and Robert De Niro (2) Founder and head of the Corleone family and one of the trilogy’s two protagonists. As an older man, Vito is a shrewd Mafia boss known as the Godfather. As a younger man, he is a ruthlessly ambitious Sicilian immigrant in New York’s Little Italy in the early twentieth century. Vito is a warm and loving father and husband. He wears his hair slicked back and seems incapable of talking without mumbling. Michael Corleone - Played by Al Pacino The trilogy’s other protagonist. Michael is Vito’s youngest son.

At the beginning of The Godfather, he is uninvolved in the Mafia and seems headed for a successful career in politics or another “legitimate” field. Over the course of the film, he abandons these plans. He joins the family business and succeeds his father as head of the Corleone family. A cold-blooded Mafia don with no tolerance for dissent or treachery, Michael is even bolder, more violent, and more ambitious than Vito, and he becomes fantastically rich in the casino business. He proves much less successful in his personal life. Michael seems incapable of relaxing enough to smile, and his tense relationship with his wife, Kay, whom he divorces, is a constant source of anguish. Kay Adams Corleone - Played by Diane Keaton Michael’s girlfriend at the beginning of The Godfather and later his wife. Kay is an all-American girl from New Hampshire who falls in love with a decorated World War II veteran and winds up a Mafia don’s wife. At first, she plays dumb and chooses to ignore the violence that goes on around her.

But eventually, she rebels against the prohibitions on her movement, Michael’s cold distance, and the threats to her and her family, leaving Michael at the end of The Godfather Part II. By The Godfather Part III, she has remarried. Tom Hagen - Played by Robert Duvall The Corleone family lawyer and sometime chief advisor, or consigliere. An orphan on the street, Tom was adopted by Vito and grew up as a member of the Corleone family. Although he is intricately involved in the family business, Tom is not a violent man and rarely gets his hands dirty. At times he comes across as a voice of reason in family debates, while at other times he is timid, overly cautious, and unimaginative. (Santino) Sonny Corleone - Played by James Caan Vito’s oldest son. Sonny is hot-headed, violent, and reckless, a combination that leads him into a death trap set by a rival family. A philanderer, Sonny has an illegitimate child, Vincent Mancini, who succeeds Michael as head of the Corleone family in The Godfather Part III. Fredo Corleone - Played by John Cazale Vito’s middle son.

Weak-willed and terribly insecure, Fredo is overshadowed by his older brother’s reckless passion and his younger brother’s unshakeable confidence. He briefly finds himself living the life of a decadent playboy in Las Vegas, but his comfort with women and drink is only a cover for his essential unease. Connie Corleone Rizzi - Played by Talia Shire Vito’s daughter. At the opening of The Godfather, Connie marries Carlo Rizzi, who turns out to be an abusive, adulterous terror. After Michael kills Carlo, Connie enters a period of rebellion against her brother, behaving like a spoiled, overgrown child, pathetic, lost, and very angry. By the end of The Godfather Part II, however, she regains control of her life, and in Part III she emerges as the backbone of the family. Carlo Rizzi - Played by Gianni Russo Connie’s abusive husband. Carlo betrays the Corleone family, tipping off Sonny’s killers, and is killed by Michael for his transgression. Apollonia Corleone - Played by Simonetta Stefanelli Michael’s first wife.

While hiding out in Sicily in The Godfather, Michael falls in love at first sight with Apollonia, a sixteen-year-old beauty. Just days after their marriage, Apollonia is killed in a car bomb intended for Michael. Clemenza - Played by Richard S. Castellano (1) and B. Kirby, Jr. (2) A member of the Corleone crime family and longtime associate of Vito. Clemenza is jolly, easygoing, and well-fed, but he is also a vicious killer. He gives Michael lessons in cooking and firing a gun in The Godfather. Tessio - Played by Abe Vigoda (1, 2) and John Aprea (2) A member of the Corleone family and longtime associate of Vito. Cleverer than Clemenza, Tessio betrays Michael at the end of The Godfather. Don Fanucci - Played by Gaston Moschin An early-twentieth-century Little Italy Mafia don. Fanucci is a small-time extortionist who dresses like a big-time pimp. Murdering him is Vito Corleone’s first step toward gaining power in his neighborhood.

Barzini - The head of one of the five Mafia families of New York. Bonasera - An undertaker who asks Vito to avenge his daughter’s beating. Johnny Fontane - Played by Al Martino A famous singer and actor, like Frank Sinatra. Though a successful performer, Johnny Fontane comes to Vito, his godfather, for help with his career on more than one occasion. Sollozzo - Played by Al Lettieri A gangster known as the Turk. Sollozzo is involved in the narcotics trade and is backed by Barzini and Tattaglia (another Mafia boss). Captain McCluskey - A corrupt, bigoted policeman who moonlights as Sollozzo’s bodyguard. Jack Woltz - Played by John Marley A Hollywood film producer who refuses to give Johnny Fontane a part in his latest war movie. Woltz is crass and materialist, more capitalist than artist. Hyman Roth - Played by Lee Strasberg An aging Jewish gangster and an old colleague of Vito. Roth partners with Michael in business dealings in Las Vegas and Havana, Cuba, in The Godfather Part II.

Roth is terminally ill and seems to be dying throughout the film, but he still finds time between doctor’s visits to manipulate foreign presidents and plan assassinations. Johnny Ola - Frankie Pentangeli - Played by Michael V. Gazzo The head of the New York branch of the Corleone family after Michael moves most of the operation to Las Vegas. Pentangeli is a Mafia traditionalist who feels that Michael isn’t running things like Vito did. But despite their differences, Pentangeli refuses to testify against Michael during congressional hearings on the Mafia. While serving out a prison term for contempt of Congress, he kills himself, reenacting the ritual suicide of a failed Roman conspirator. Senator Pat Geary - Played by G. D. Spradlin A corrupt Nevada senator. One of the least attractive characters in the trilogy, Geary is two-faced, bigoted, and adulterous. He defends Michael in the congressional hearings, but only because Tom caught him in Vegas, unconscious in bed with a murdered prostitute. Geary’s presence in the movie is a sign of Coppola’s cynicism about politics.

Mama Corleone - Played by Morgana King (1, 2) and Francesca de Sapio (2) Vito’s loyal, loving wife. Anthony Corleone - Played by James Gounaris (2) and Franc D’Ambrosio (3) Michael’s son. Rather than joining the family business, Anthony pursues a career as an opera singer. Mary Corleone - Played by Sofia Coppola Michael’s daughter. Closer to Michael than her brother is, Mary is head of the Vito Corleone Foundation for the Poor of Sicily. To her father’s dismay, she becomes romantically involved with her cousin, Vincent Mancini. Vincent Mancini - Played by Andy Garcia Michael’s nephew and successor as head of the Corleone family. Over the course of The Godfather Part III, Vincent evolves from a leather jacket-wearing street hood into a silk suit-donning don. Thug or Godfather, he is always a ladykiller. Andrew Hagen - Tom Hagen’s son and a Catholic priest.

Joey Zasa - Played by Joe Mantegna A smalltime gangster who has become boss of the old Corleone neighborhood in Little Italy in The Godfather Part III. Publicity hungry, arrogant, and insecure, Joey challenges both Michael and Vincent. Don Altobello - A scheming old-time mafioso who pretends to play the role of peacemaker. Don Tommasino - Played by Mario Cotone (1, 2) and Vittorio Duse (3) Michael’s friend and guardian in Sicily. Licio Lucchesi - Played by Enzo Robatti The leader of the Vatican conspirators in The Godfather Part III who poison the new pope and plot unsuccessfully to kill Michael. Archbishop Gliday - A frail, twitchy-fingered, chain-smoking, corrupt archbishop. Al Neri - Vito Corleone | Villains Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. „ ~ Don Vito Corleone's most famous line and one of the most famous movie quotes of all time.

Don Vito Corleone is a major character and the titular character from The Godfather novel and films although he appears more prominently in the first installment and in some reccuring flashbacks in the second. Vito was the first head of the Corleone Family and he was a senior Mafia don and a wealthy Olive oil business owner. In the 1972 film adaptaion, He was portrayed by the late legendary Marlon Brando, who later won the Oscar for his performance, and would later go on to play Walter E. Kurtz . In The Godfather: Part II ,He was portrayed by the legendary Robert De Niro who also portrayed Travis Bickle and Jimmy Conway . Biography The novel explains that Vito was born in the small town of Corleone in 1891. According to The Godfather Part II, he was born on December 7. His father, Antonio Andolini, is murdered by the local Mafia boss, Don Ciccio, because he refused to pay tribute to him. His older brother, Paolo, swears revenge, but is himself murdered soon after.

Eventually, Ciccio's henchmen come to the residence of the Andolinis to take Vito away and have him killed. Desperate, Signora Andolini takes her son to see the mafia chieftain herself. When Vito's mother goes to see Don Ciccio, she begs him to spare Vito. However, Ciccio refuses, reasoning that Vito would also seek revenge as an adult. Upon Ciccio's refusal, Signora Andolini puts a knife to his throat, allowing her son to escape, but is then shot dead by Ciccio's guards. (In the novel, she survives being shot and later reunites with her son in Sicily many years later.) Later that night, he is smuggled away, fleeing Sicily to seek refuge in America on a cargo ship full of immigrants. In the novel, he deliberately changes his name to Corleone, after his home town. The film, however, plays that he is renamed "Vito Corleone" because the immigration workers at Ellis Island mistake "Andolini" for his middle name and the name of his town for his last name.

According to The Godfather Part II, he later adopts the middle name "Andolini" to acknowledge his heritage. Vito is later adopted by the Abbandando family in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and he befriends their son, Genco, who becomes like a brother to him. Vito begins making an honest living at Abbandando's grocery store on Ninth Avenue, but loses the job, as an intimidated Abbandando is forced to fire Vito to make room for the nephew of Don Fanucci, a blackhander and the local neighborhood padrone. A young Vito (played by Robert De Niro) kills Don Fanucci He soon learns to survive and prosper through petty crime and performing favors in return for loyalty. During this time, he also befriends two other low-level hoods, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio . In 1920, he commits his first murder, killing Fanucci, who had tried to extort money from him. Vito chooses the day of a major Italian festival to spy on Fanucci from the rooftops as Fanucci goes home, and surprises him at the door to his apartment.

He shoots Fanucci three times, as the din from the festival and the towel he had wrapped around the gun as a makeshift silencer drowns out the noise from the gunshots. As a young man, Vito starts an olive oil business, Genco Pura (known as simply Genco Olive Oil in the films) with his friend Genco Abbandando. The company eventually becomes the biggest olive oil importer in the nation. Over the years he uses it as a legal front for his organized crime syndicate, while amassing a fortune with his illegal operations. In 1925, he returns to Sicily for the first time since leaving 24 years earlier. He and his partner, Don Tommasino, then set up a meeting with the aging Don Ciccio, where he kills him by carving his stomach open, thus avenging his murdered father, mother and brother. By the early 1930s, Vito Corleone has organized his illegal operations as the Corleone crime family. Genco Abbandando becomes his consigliere, or advisor, with Clemenza and Tessio as caporegimes.

Later, his oldest son Santino (nicknamed "Sonny") becomes a capo as well, and eventually his underboss. Around 1939, he moves his base of operations to Long Beach, on Long Island. While he oversees a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, and union corruption, he is known as a kind, generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family. He is a staunch believer in family values, rebuking his eldest son for conducting an affair, speaking contemptuously of his rival Don Tattaglia as "a pimp" and (in a deleted scene) expressing disgust ("infamia") at Jack Woltz's abuse of underage girls. At the same time, he is known as a traditionalist who demands respect commensurate with his status.

By the time of the novel and film, even his three closest friends — Abbadando, Clemenza and Tessio — never call him "Vito", but either "Godfather" or "Don Corleone." In both the book and the first scene of the first Godfather, he chastises his old friend, undertaker Amerigo Bonasera, for not coming to him first after his daughter is beaten up instead of going to the police. Although he has a reputation for ruthlessness, he disapproves of many of the vicious crimes carried out by gangs, and so seeks to control crime in New York by either consuming or eliminating rival gangs. In 1945, Vito is nearly assassinated when he refuses the request of Virgil Sollozzo to invest in a heroin operation and use his political contacts for the operation's protection. At the meeting for the request, Sonny intimates that he is interested in the offer; after the meeting, Vito warns his son that he should never let anyone but the family in on his thinking. Vito is supposed to be driven home by his bodyguard, Paulie Gatto (a soldier in the Clemenza regime), along with his son Fredo .

When the Don finds that Paulie is not there, Fredo tells him that Paulie has called in sick that day due to a cold. The Don crosses the street to buy oranges from a street vendor, when two of Sollozzo's hitmen come out from the shadows with guns drawn. Realizing the situation, Vito tries to sprint back to his Cadillac but he is shot five times. Drawing his weapon, Fredo tries to help his father, but is overcome with uncontrollable fear, fumbles with his gun—and can't get to his defense in time. Certain that the Don is dead, Sollozzo kidnaps Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen and tells him to get Sonny to accept the drug deal. Hagen agrees, but warns Sollozzo that the Don's fanatically loyal hitman, Luca Brasi , will likely come after Sollozzo. Sollozzo merely tells him to "let me worry about Luca", not telling him that he already killed him hours earlier. Just as Hagen is released, Sollozzo finds out the Don survived. Enraged, he makes a second attempt two days later. The Don is at the French Hospital being guarded by men from Tessio's regime.

However, Sollozzo has police Captain Mark McCluskey — who has been on the take for many years — throw Tessio's men in jail, leaving the Don unguarded. Unfortunately for Sollozzo and McCluskey, Vito's youngest son Michael comes to visit his father just minutes before the attack is due. Realizing that his father is in danger, Michael has a nurse help him move the Don to another room and pretends to stand guard outside the hospital with Enzo the baker, a man who had come to visit the Don in gratitude for his earlier assistance in allowing him to stay in America. Injuries from the attack put Vito out of action for the next three years, during which Sonny serves as acting head of the family. Sonny determines that Paulie took money from Sollozzo in return for betraying the Don, and orders him killed. He also gets word the Tattaglias had killed Luca Brasi, and orders Tessio's men to kill the family's underboss, Bruno Tattaglia, when the Tattaglias refused to turn him over.

Michael persuades Sonny to allow him to avenge their father by killing Sollozzo and McCluskey himself, noting that as a longtime non-combatant he would be little suspected and that the otherwise off-limits action of killing a police captain was justified by the fact that McCluskey is serving as Sollozzo's bodyguard. Also, Michael points out, the family's media contacts can spread word of McCluskey's corruption. A year later, Sonny himself is assassinated in a plot instigated by his sister, Connie's abusive husband Carlo Rizzi, in revenge for beating up after first learning of his abuse. This forces Vito to resume command. He ordered that no inquiries be made, and also ordered that no vengeance should be sought. With the Don incapacitated, the other families had moved in on his business interests, as well as his labor rackets. With the Don's return, rival families now started reconsidering their moves.

Corleone making peace with Tattaglia After Sonny's funeral and other formalities, Vito orders Hagen to contact Emilio Barzini, the second most powerful Mafia chieftain in the country, in order to arrange a meeting of heads of all the families in America except the Chicago Outfit (considered the "black sheep" of the underworld). The meeting takes place in the board room of a Manhattan bank whose president was a close friend of the Corleones. In that meeting, Vito renounces all vengeance regarding his son's death, and reluctantly agrees to the drug operations. However, he says he only accepts this for "selfish reasons" in order to bring Michael back from exile in Sicily. He then says that, should anything happen to Michael or his other remaining children, he will exact indiscriminate vengeance upon all of the Dons. Though it pains him to do this, he gains the knowledge that both Tattaglia and Sollozzo were merely pawns in a bigger plot to destroy the family started by Barzini himself, aided and abetted by the other dons. After Michael's return from Sicily, Vito installs him in the family business.

After Michael's marriage to long-time girlfriend Kay Adams, Vito goes into semi-retirement. Michael becomes operating head of the family, with Vito as an informal consigliere. Michael sends Hagen to Las Vegas to act as the family's lawyer there and lay the groundwork for a planned move of most operations there after Vito's death. Clemenza and Tessio request permission to break off and form their own families after the move to Las Vegas. Michael's bodyguards Al Neri and Rocco Lampone are chosen to be the future caporegimes of the family. At the end of the novel, Vito dies of a heart attack while playing with his grandson Anthony in his garden. His last words in the novel are, "Life is so beautiful." Vito's funeral is a grand affair, with all the other dons, capos and consiglieres in New York attending. Vito tells Michael some days before his death that Barzini would set Michael up to be killed under cover of a meeting "to fix up things." Barzini would use a trusted member of the Corleone family as an intermediary.

At the funeral, Tessio tells Michael that he had set up a meeting on his territory in Brooklyn, where Michael would presumably be safe. However, Michael had anticipated this and has Tessio killed, as well as Dons Barzini and Tattaglia (and in the film, Dons Cuneo and Stracci as well) and Carlo Rizzi as well after getting him to confess to his part in Sonny's death, thus avenging his father and brother. The Godfather: The Game Vito Corleone also appeares in the 2005 video game adaptation of the first film where he sends the player on some missions.

Question: Who played Vito Corleone in The Godfather?
Answer: Marlon Brando